The Canvas of Babel

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  • Опубліковано 26 вер 2024
  • Twitter: / solar_sas
    Second Channel: / @solarsands2
    Patreon: www.patreon.co...
    Music in order of appearance:
    Tim Hecker - Harmony In Ultraviolet (2006) -- Chimeras
    Bloons TD Battle Music Monkey and Bloons!
    Ryo Kawasaki - Juice (1976)
    bl00dwave - V I R T U A L L O N L I N E S S
    Egyptology - The Skies Principles of Geometry Remix
    clappingmusic....
    Aphex Twin - Domino
    Kevin MacLeod - Ethereal Relaxation
    Source and Useful Links
    Library of Babel/Image Archives Website - libraryofbabel...
    Bad Apple in the Library of Babel - • Bad Apple in Library o...
    www.hermann-gruber.com/pdf/fun07-final.pdf
    Jess Anderson Typing - www.jesse-ande...
    Monkey Typing - alfre.dk/finite...
    www.jesse-ande...
    www.wired.com/...
    All Melodies Project - • Copyrighting all the m...
    www.independen...
    • S/N (Signal To Noise) ...
    Image by Hannah Day from Pixabay

КОМЕНТАРІ • 6 тис.

  • @SolarSands
    @SolarSands  2 роки тому +3852

    Corrections:
    0:00 To be extra extra clear The Library of Babel Website DOES NOT LITERALLY "CONTAIN" AS IN "STORE" EVERYTHING somewhere but it does have the potential to generate everything given enough time, which is nearly indistinguishable to searching through a theoretical library that does have everything stored physically.
    4:40 There are not 10^4677 books there are 10^4677 possible pages. From the website: "It contains all possible pages of 3200 characters, about 10^4677 books"
    7:15 I forgot to mention it is all 8 note *12 beat* meldoies.
    10:31 The time to complete its sort is O(N) to infinity since it requires some amount of time to shuffle once even if it seems instant to us. Sorry.
    Philosophically the concept described in this video is sound, but there are some details that can cause problems (some which just come down to interpretations of certain word choices) with some of the claims made in this video concerning the mechanics of the websites themselves.
    One such example is this post on the subreddit for the library of babel. www.reddit.com/r/BabelForum/comments/vph7p3/a_long_dive_into_the_algorithm_some_math_stupid/

  • @hensli
    @hensli 2 роки тому +3781

    Imagine procrastinating doing your 3-page paper assignment, scrolling through the library and then you find a perfect match to the assignment within one of the books and just turning that in.

    • @derpatel9760
      @derpatel9760 Рік тому +182

      And then only one answer turns out correct because there's an equal chance of failing to not failing.

    • @GreasyGary
      @GreasyGary Рік тому +137

      @@derpatel9760 Shrodingers assignment

    • @EnderrBoi
      @EnderrBoi Рік тому +42

      @@GreasyGary if you look at your test paper it either blows up or every correct answer appears

    • @ketch10
      @ketch10 Рік тому +9

      to bad its literally impossible cuz cringy universe

    • @HassleHoffer372
      @HassleHoffer372 Рік тому +10

      @@ketch10 As somebody who is incredibly good at English, I fainted in death when I saw this spelling.

  • @Average_NerdIII
    @Average_NerdIII Рік тому +5820

    Don't forget that every frame of this video is also contained inside the library of babel

    • @Killerkraft975
      @Killerkraft975 Рік тому +239

      Every thing you look at will be rasterized and be contained within the canvas of babel.

    • @therealwisemysticaltree
      @therealwisemysticaltree Рік тому +359

      There are 288 "paintings" on the canvas of babel that when put together make a 12 second video of me morphing into a crab

    • @DrDunsparce
      @DrDunsparce Рік тому +44

      Your comment is there too

    • @therealwisemysticaltree
      @therealwisemysticaltree Рік тому +18

      @@DrDunsparce you are there

    • @SG2048-meta
      @SG2048-meta Рік тому +53

      @@therealwisemysticaltree there are also 288 paintings that combine to form a video of me morphing into a crab, and the background is just a picture of a chrome window

  • @oxcaxx
    @oxcaxx 2 роки тому +35790

    Imagine scrolling through the slideshow of the image library of babel and then just finding a picture of you literally as you are sat there staring at the screen

    • @Ai.Mi_5-25
      @Ai.Mi_5-25 2 роки тому +3487

      Imagine scrolling through the slideshow of the image library of babel and then just finding a picture of a joke you haven't told anyone yet, but now cannot take credit to.

    • @karenbenton1503
      @karenbenton1503 2 роки тому +1750

      @@Ai.Mi_5-25 imagine scrolling through the ACTUAL library of babel and finding the message “the end of times is upon us , you are unlucky to find this message “

    • @shawermus
      @shawermus 2 роки тому +477

      It theoretically possible but probably won't ever happen sadly...

    • @lonestarr1490
      @lonestarr1490 2 роки тому +750

      Thing is, there's not just one such picture in it, but several thousands. It's just that for all but one some minor detail is off, like the color of one pixel somewhere in the corner is not exactly right or the eye color is wrong.
      And imagine all the pictures of yourself sitting in front of your screen with someone standing right behind you. It could be anyone, literally.

    • @zachrabaznaz7687
      @zachrabaznaz7687 2 роки тому +130

      @@karenbenton1503 It would mean nothing.

  • @Advent10II7
    @Advent10II7 Рік тому +3240

    This feels like the setup to a creepypasta, where the protagonist does stumble across something meaningful, but horrifying (like a photo of his death or something).

    • @htf5555
      @htf5555 Рік тому +105

      "a photo of your death"
      spookiest shit. reminds me of THAT scene in lake mungo.

    • @Pyxyty
      @Pyxyty Рік тому +79

      As someone who often dives into the creepypasta wikia (which, i swear, has a very decent level of standard for most of the works that are edited by the mods), that plot point has already been covered so many times.
      Man finds predictive thing -> man either tries to avoid it or pushes themselves towards that reality -> it happens but not how one expected it to happen, or the predictive thing was a result of him trying to prevent it

    • @taylorphillips7030
      @taylorphillips7030 Рік тому +31

      How is the viewer supposed to know that the image they see is how they die? Just because it depicts them dying does not mean that is how they will die. If the viewer believes that the image is an accurate depiction of their future, they are paranoid. Although it is certainly possible the picture is accurate, it is extraordinarily unlikely.

    • @Pyxyty
      @Pyxyty Рік тому +16

      @@taylorphillips7030 im not sure you fully understand the concept of the video yet mate. It's not saying that whatever you see in it will predict your future or whatever, it's saying that absolutely no matter what happens in your future, a photo of it will exist in the archive, albeit very unlikely to be found at all

    • @taylorphillips7030
      @taylorphillips7030 Рік тому +11

      @Pyxyty I'm not sure you fully understand my comment. I'm saying for the setup originally posed the person who sees a meaningful photo of their death would have to believe that they are actually seeing their death. Of course, because a random picture depicting a plausible cause of death for someone is not predictive(it has no intrinsic menaing), any person who sees themselves dying would understand it is unlikely they die it that way. Thus, the setup for the story doesn't work.

  • @glegolas5008
    @glegolas5008 2 роки тому +3603

    I think from a standpoint it's really telling that a website full of every possible way to make art is practically useless because it doesn't have an aim. Art is truly filled by necessity of the artist

    • @boyinblue.
      @boyinblue. 2 роки тому +55

      Agreed, emotion is a big part of art and without it things are shallow or just flows of colors.

    • @badger6882
      @badger6882 2 роки тому +10

      You might like subjectivity in art by CJ the X

    • @KorporalNoobs
      @KorporalNoobs 2 роки тому +43

      Even better: The "impressive" thing about the machine itself is entirely man-made, too. In function, abilities and effect it is an entirely unimpressive basic program.
      And in theory, a guy with infinite pieces of paper and a pencil could do the same. It might take 10.000x longer, but that is of 0 consequence anyway.

    • @kennethbenicio4722
      @kennethbenicio4722 2 роки тому +6

      It's futile at best. I think the internet has some marvelous things to someone who wants to knowledge, but things like this are just a big waste of time..

    • @lakazatong
      @lakazatong 2 роки тому

      Until AI comes in

  • @geegee952
    @geegee952 2 роки тому +3941

    He really used Bloons TD music when talking about the infinite monkey theorem.
    I should be mad, but I am entertained.

    • @saddlebag
      @saddlebag 2 роки тому +45

      Why… exactly should you be mad? It’s good music, and not just within the context of the game.

    • @Gloomdrake
      @Gloomdrake 2 роки тому +147

      @@saddlebag angry in the same way you get mad at a "good" pun

    • @geegee952
      @geegee952 2 роки тому

      @@saddlebag Perhaps I was using certain stylistic devices to make my comment seem funny, to apeal to the masses.
      So that they may fuel my ego with imaginary likes which are meaningless and barely have any purpose, like the rest of our existence.

    • @DaBezzzz
      @DaBezzzz 2 роки тому +6

      LOL I didn't even catch that

    • @saddlebag
      @saddlebag 2 роки тому +8

      @@Gloomdrake Oh wait, I totally missed that pun.

  • @archivushka
    @archivushka 2 роки тому +1170

    It has the same vibes as "I know every phone number, just don't know which person it belongs to"

    • @purpl3grape
      @purpl3grape 2 роки тому +6

      Can someone be incriminated for randomly generating illegal material?

    • @joemama-kc7ez
      @joemama-kc7ez 2 роки тому +21

      @@purpl3grape depends on the material, usually no, but also just intent. accidentally calling a private line is fine, but having an illegal file on your pc will be hard to explain

    • @user-pz9Qo9fn5Z
      @user-pz9Qo9fn5Z 2 роки тому +1

      @@joemama-kc7ez what if this babel thing generates a image of a child being raped?

    • @DrakoWulf
      @DrakoWulf 2 роки тому +16

      @@user-pz9Qo9fn5Z | He went there.

    • @aikslf
      @aikslf 2 роки тому

      @@purpl3grape In some cases the answer is yes, assuming that you have the sensory information to understand what you just generated is illegal. For example, if you accidentally generated mature content showing a not adult and had the vision to view the content, then you just did something illegal. As for proving that it was randomly generated and getting away with it in court, you'll be out of luck in this scenario.

  • @nobudgetforname4798
    @nobudgetforname4798 Рік тому +1245

    Waiting for art to appear on babel is like waiting for life to spontaneously start existing

    • @NowCircle-e6d
      @NowCircle-e6d Рік тому +37

      We breathe and eat through the same hole which guarantees a percentage of all humans will die by choking on our own food.

    • @Yetta_
      @Yetta_ Рік тому +1

      @@NowCircle-e6dcan my food make you choke 👉👈😳

    • @CoolSaver
      @CoolSaver Рік тому +3

      I know right? So dumb lol.

    • @gaburieruR
      @gaburieruR Рік тому +47

      Waiting "good" art to appear on Canvas of Babel is like expecting"complex life" emerging from nothing.
      You can still find some globs of color there and there, just like aminoacids form on the natural environment

    • @NowCircle-e6d
      @NowCircle-e6d Рік тому +14

      @@gaburieruR It's obviously fake, the proof is the image search feature:
      It's not finding a picture identical to yours it's just taking your picture and putting a random number on it.
      The amount of time and resources it would take to find any specific image is more than anyone has right now.

  • @Coestar
    @Coestar 2 роки тому +532

    The algorithm you described that can accurately sort the meaningful from the gibberish in the babel archives is, annoyingly, also inside the archives.

    • @aduckwithgrapes9572
      @aduckwithgrapes9572 2 роки тому +92

      "Well, at least we have the instructions to find it"
      "thats in the archives too"
      "Frick"

    • @KyleBrownIsALoser
      @KyleBrownIsALoser 2 роки тому +29

      @@aduckwithgrapes9572 Lucky you the instructions to finding the instructions to finding the algorithm actually does exist. Take a wild shot in the dark on where it is.

    • @jakew7482
      @jakew7482 2 роки тому +7

      that is only if the algorithm is possible. So if you think about it the babel archives cannot contain everything.

    • @cara-seyun
      @cara-seyun 2 роки тому +9

      I mean, there are instructions to find the algorithm, and instructions to find the instructions, and instructions to find those, on and on and on, which means there should be an unimaginably large number of these instruction books.
      But there’s also an unimaginably large number of false algorithms and false paths.
      Or instructions for an algorithm, but it’s written in a language we won’t invent for 400 years, or a language we never will invent.

    • @jakew7482
      @jakew7482 2 роки тому +5

      @@cara-seyun there is also infinite languages and so every book in the library technically contains the algorithm in some sort of language

  • @esobelisk3110
    @esobelisk3110 2 роки тому +3572

    i feel the need to point out that searching for the “secret to immortality” in these libraries isn’t just pointless because the chance of finding something coherent is so small, but because there isn’t a filter for truth. these libraries contain secrets, yes, but they don’t *know* anything.
    even with a hypothetical coherency filter, you will come across a million lies before you ever find the truth, and you have no way of telling them apart.

    • @RGC_animation
      @RGC_animation 2 роки тому +77

      Well you'll have to make a leap of faith and rely on your good buddy luck once again.

    • @AuxenceF
      @AuxenceF 2 роки тому +60

      Also since the adresses are as long as the books, these libraries just don't contain information, if you learn where a book is, you would be better off learning the content of the book instead

    • @pumkin610
      @pumkin610 2 роки тому +9

      I suppose humans could live a lot longer than they do now, and the answer to that one would probably be found with humans, not a random book.

    • @Yrvo12345
      @Yrvo12345 2 роки тому +101

      To achieve immortality you need to find the book, but to find the book you need immortality.

    • @theblah12
      @theblah12 2 роки тому +43

      It’s much more accurate to say that the library could potentially *generate* “secrets”, or just coherent text in general, as nothing is actually stored and none of the pages or images you view on the site actually existed prior to you clicking on the page number - which is really just the seed used to generate whatever you’re looking at. Of course, the same is true for any random number generator that spews out strings of ascii text. It’s like how Minecraft or No Man’s Sky generates worlds on the fly as you explore them, rather then storing every possible result of it’s procedural generation algorithm which would be impossible.
      The existence of the library as a physical space that contains information is really just an illusion, just as Minecraft gives you the illusion of an infinite world - when in reality nothing about the current world you’re viewing actually exists outside what has already been generated.

  • @spritingk6879
    @spritingk6879 2 роки тому +1493

    The first time I encountered this concept was actually on the never-ending story book(which the film is based on) in which people who forgot how to tell stories throw dices with random letters in order until they get something sensible, and their caretaker explains that at some point they would get every story, every combination of words possible, which is why they keep playing.
    It kind of speaks to that Idea of art existing with meaning inherently, otherwise it's just an simulation of it, and I always found that particular scene very harrowing (the book's context helps, but on its own its something that always stuck with me)

    • @tacticalassaultanteater9678
      @tacticalassaultanteater9678 2 роки тому +42

      The Never-ending Story was probably one of the few books that defined my outlook on the world, I must've been around 12 when I read it. I should probably re-read it as a form of self-reflection.

    • @אלוןשיינפלד
      @אלוןשיינפלד 2 роки тому +4

      does the library of babel not work for anyone else or is it just me?

    • @ajhhc
      @ajhhc 2 роки тому +3

      @@אלוןשיינפלד check the pinned comment, it's offline for a few days

  • @jesuisfudgeman874
    @jesuisfudgeman874 Рік тому +174

    the bloons music starting the second you started talking about monkeys was a stroke of genius

  • @samuels1123
    @samuels1123 2 роки тому +2029

    Also does this mean that the Canvas of Babel owns every NFT to a specific resolution? Technically it existed at the start of time as the properties of space, it is weird when the rights to something is claimed between two parts of one object

    • @SolarSands
      @SolarSands  2 роки тому +582

      omg yes

    • @lithunoisan
      @lithunoisan 2 роки тому +103

      But is it on the blockchain? The Blockchain doesn’t lie.

    • @TornaitSuperBird
      @TornaitSuperBird 2 роки тому +335

      @@lithunoisan Space came before the blockchain.
      Checkmate, atheists.

    • @heavenlyusurper
      @heavenlyusurper 2 роки тому +212

      “Guys the canvas of Babel screenshotted my nft I don’t think it’s allowed to do that😡 Muskie is gonna head about this!!!”

    • @xninewxw7559
      @xninewxw7559 2 роки тому +35

      Nft bros get the library shut down

  • @hacim42
    @hacim42 2 роки тому +1492

    I remember getting introduced to the Library of Babel in a DONG! vid from like seven years ago. The concept has always fascinated me, and you really hit me with the line "How can we train an algorithm to recognize meaning?" because it really highlights just how far AI has to go before it has actually attained sentience. DALL-E can only create a meaningful image from a human source, it cannot create it's own input, or it's own meaning, like we do.

    • @draco6349
      @draco6349 2 роки тому

      But do we really create our own meaning? Everything Dall-E makes is based fundamentally on everything else it has ever seen, and yet our memory is no different. If you had no senses, and were effectively only a brain running random impulses with no stimuli, that would be your entire reality. You would be unable to comprehend anything else. All "meaning" humans create is just the sum total of everything we've ever seen + the stimuli we are currently experiencing. Artificial intelligence does not mean "fake" intelligence, it is simply man-made. It functions basically the same as we do, only on a somewhat lower level.

    • @The9garr
      @The9garr 2 роки тому +42

      It's a really interesting question to ask. We've always had trouble defining sentience in regards to living things, but to understand how/if a computer discerns meaning we really need to understand how we do it ourselves. A computer can draw meaning or appear to draw meaning from acting on some bunch of inputs in some format if we teach it to, but how is that different from how we see the world?

    • @nox8600
      @nox8600 2 роки тому +4

      Would you clarify the difference?

    • @The9garr
      @The9garr 2 роки тому +38

      @@nox8600 I work with machine learning so I only know how actual brains can be compared to fake brains, but from my understanding all our brains are doing is taking in a big ol bunch of inputs like nerves & light receptors and interpreting all that by activating neurons in some way (I'm sure it's way more complex than that though). An artificial neural network essentially does the same thing only instead of nerves & cells it's pretty much just numbers. The simplest form of neural network will essentially take all those numbers, apply a bunch of operations to them & spit out some output.
      DALL-E is just an algorithm that takes a text input and *does some stuff* then outputs some image that is thinks is related to the text you gave it, based on learning from examples created by humans. Which to me doesn't seem so different to what our brains are doing all the time when we see things or try to create our own art.
      (DALL-E is definitely super complex though and I probably didnt do it justice here)

    • @nox8600
      @nox8600 2 роки тому +3

      @@The9garr thanks!

  • @ChessedGamon
    @ChessedGamon 2 роки тому +410

    Put the canvas on shuffle and wait for it to play out this entire video with all the frames in the right order and the cycle will be complete

    • @twitchyalien3787
      @twitchyalien3787 2 роки тому +15

      And do the same with the audio library of babel

  • @PastaMasta09
    @PastaMasta09 Рік тому +637

    Every once in a while I take a selfie or some other random picture of something I own and then search it on the canvas of Babel. It’s pretty trippy to draw a picture, take a picture of yourself with the picture, and find it already existed somewhere somehow

    • @tamastasi428
      @tamastasi428 Рік тому +12

      why is no one talking about this

    • @r3l4x69
      @r3l4x69 Рік тому +63

      @@tamastasi428 because it isnt correct. its smoke and mirrors

    • @gr4uh
      @gr4uh Рік тому

      The website is clearly fake.. it just uses JavaScript and adds effects to the image and creates a code that never existed

    • @wyvrnres
      @wyvrnres Рік тому +5

      you know its fake, right?

    • @gr4uh
      @gr4uh Рік тому

      @@wyvrnres I've known these websites have been fake since day one

  • @Neillan
    @Neillan 2 роки тому +1663

    I've been waiting for you to cover this, it's easily one of the most existential websites out there. For anyone thinking you can find some sort of future images or predictions using it, the chances of you even finding anything remotely coherent within your lifetime is indescribably miniscule. There are several hoxes floating around on the dedicated subreddit, but no one has ever confirmed having found a full image (at least to my knowledge).

    • @CatchThesePaws
      @CatchThesePaws 2 роки тому +80

      Has there ever been anything remotely different from random found? Like a patch of similar colors or a line? I’m expecting not, but the chances of like ten pixels being the same next to each other is nowhere near as unreachable as a full image.

    • @landru27
      @landru27 2 роки тому +55

      Right on. Worse, though : For anyone thinking you can find some sort of future images or predictions using it, even if you DO find a coherent image, you won't know if it's an image of (a) the future, (b) the past, (c) a future that could have been but won't because of something that's already happened, (d) a future that you should do everything in your power to prevent, (e) from a time-and-place in the universe you cannot reach because of the speed limit of light, (f) from an alternative universe altogether, (g) someone's fever dream, (h) etc. Nothing constrains even the coherent images to having any relationship to anything else at all.

    • @rojastegulu
      @rojastegulu 2 роки тому +30

      So what would be the chances of finding an among us.

    • @Johnnywhat
      @Johnnywhat 2 роки тому +12

      @@rojastegulu 3% chance

    • @Neillan
      @Neillan 2 роки тому +10

      @@CatchThesePaws Not to my knowledge, no. Even a few colored splotches would be momentous.

  • @LDogSmiles
    @LDogSmiles 2 роки тому +1694

    “I’ve found the meaning of life in the library of babel!” -said no one ever in the timespan of the universe

    • @heavenlyusurper
      @heavenlyusurper 2 роки тому +46

      “The meaning of life is to be alive and live.”
      -Joe Swanson idk

    • @nathanstoysandmore
      @nathanstoysandmore 2 роки тому +125

      “Jdjsjsjxjsjxjsksjsjsjsjsiskicismsmxnx” -the library of babel

    • @cashkromsupernerd1193
      @cashkromsupernerd1193 2 роки тому +45

      It can't be that hard to find 42 somewhere in there

    • @cookiehawk
      @cookiehawk 2 роки тому +37

      @@nathanstoysandmore idk man, I personally liked "ernocnetnc7teh7o3tjv73t7itnv8thc7i3tn7cinrvne8nt3dny83fn8yueiunvten83ufnft8u8un3tnotev783tu83fnutucjeu9nfc8nic7teoumt4ynvy4tnuievn8yruhvturrgnviufnt8ytrnvrtng8urnvrgiuntriuvtiut7nojteifu8rgjfjuietjvuitenuienvuo"

    • @telnobynoyator_6183
      @telnobynoyator_6183 2 роки тому +1

      Can't be 100% sure about that ;)

  • @Hatsune-Miku_Fan
    @Hatsune-Miku_Fan 2 роки тому +963

    As much as I miss his old DeviantArt videos, I still love and follow his channel after 3-4 years because his videos no matter what they're about are always still so entertaining to watch
    Thank you for your hard work, solar! ^^

    • @Hatsune-Miku_Fan
      @Hatsune-Miku_Fan 2 роки тому +21

      Aww, thank you for hearting my comment ^^

    • @dkskcjfjswwwwwws413
      @dkskcjfjswwwwwws413 2 роки тому

      iaponias saqartvelo jobia somexo!!!! 💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪

    • @Hatsune-Miku_Fan
      @Hatsune-Miku_Fan 2 роки тому

      @@dkskcjfjswwwwwws413 Haaa? Kakheli var

    • @sinclair707
      @sinclair707 2 роки тому +19

      Same here! I used to watch his old videos because I thought they were funny, but now the videos are genuinely captivating. I enjoy every one of them because he makes them sound interesting. I swear, he should teach a history class and I would gladly take it.

    • @heavenlyusurper
      @heavenlyusurper 2 роки тому +11

      Went from funny foot fetish ew yuck to giving me a crisis

  • @phillynott1060
    @phillynott1060 7 місяців тому +28

    It’s crazy how it could just go from gibberish to the most profound image you’ve ever seen in a second and then back to gibberish.

  • @sh0k166
    @sh0k166 2 роки тому +640

    "The only way you find meaningful art in these libraries is by making it yourself" is the most weirdly motivating thing ive ever heard

    • @lod4246
      @lod4246 2 роки тому +1

      lol i read this as it was being said in the video 12:23

  • @willmungas8964
    @willmungas8964 2 роки тому +839

    What’s crazy is that not only does the library or canvas contain every possible image or book you can think of, it also contains infinite incorrect but close variations. There’s works of Shakespeare that were never written, some with a single word off and others with completely different second acts, out of which some are complete gibberish and others are more masterful than the original. There is every picture ever taken of you, and then there’s a version of each one where you are holding any animal you can think of as a pet. There are complete histories of the world, and most, in fact all but a minuscule handful of them tell the history of a world other than our earth or an alternate version of it.

    • @RGC_animation
      @RGC_animation 2 роки тому +8

      Actually, an infinite amount of them tell the story of our Earth and then some.

    • @AuxenceF
      @AuxenceF 2 роки тому +22

      @@RGC_animation there still is a finite amount of books in total

    • @harrietjameson
      @harrietjameson 2 роки тому +5

      And to think that even that is nothing compared to infinity

    • @Kwidge-
      @Kwidge- 2 роки тому +5

      But it is very likely nobody would ever find it. The chances are so incredibly small, that even if you spent your entire life looking for a coherent image or book, you probably wouldn't find it.

    • @youraverageintrovert1990
      @youraverageintrovert1990 2 роки тому +7

      @@Kwidge- probably is an overestimation. if earth's entire population went out looking for a single coherent image or book, id bet we might find like 2 images and maybe just maybe a singular chapter of a book, but even that seems way out of reach

  • @ballom29
    @ballom29 2 роки тому +2123

    "the infinite monkey theorem"
    *bloon tower defense music start playing
    ...perfection

  • @St.petersEye
    @St.petersEye 6 місяців тому +24

    If I want to destroy the universe I'll simply go to the website and press print all.

  • @MrMrPurple
    @MrMrPurple 2 роки тому +110

    Plot twist: he got every frame of this video from the canvas of babel

    • @miguelisaurusbruh1158
      @miguelisaurusbruh1158 2 роки тому +15

      lazy af tbh

    • @MrMrPurple
      @MrMrPurple 2 роки тому +21

      Btw I got this comment from the library of babel

    • @alexsiemers7898
      @alexsiemers7898 2 роки тому +10

      And his voice is just from the audio library of babel (tbh I’d prefer calling it “the soundtrack of babel”).

  • @Benjahusky
    @Benjahusky 2 роки тому +533

    5:16 I love the idea of finding a door to the library of babel, opening it, and then just having the Blue Screen of Death appear to everyone including yourself

    • @official-obama
      @official-obama Рік тому

      :(
      The universe ran into a problem and needs to restart. We're
      just collecting some error info, and then we'll restart for
      you.
      0% complete
      [eldritch horror here] For more information about this issue and possible fixes, ask for the stop code book at the library
      If you call a support person, give them this info:
      Stop code: POINT_FLEW_AWAY

    • @BigHippyBear
      @BigHippyBear 7 місяців тому +9

      Imagine opening doors to the library of babel and the *Playstation 2 corrupted data tune* plays.

  • @ONEPEAKFRFR
    @ONEPEAKFRFR 2 роки тому +610

    I can still remember when this channel did deviantART reviews God how much this channel has grown brings me to tears

  • @hungryluma27
    @hungryluma27 2 роки тому +1512

    As a musician, I always fear that what I’m playing will somehow have already been created even though I’ve never heard it. It IS possible to accidentally make a song somebody already has made.

    • @McJaews
      @McJaews 2 роки тому +53

      One way to avoid the issue is to tune your instrument of choice to be way off key with normal even temperament tuning. Once the ear gets used to everything being off by a few cents, it'll sound normal, at least until you hear a regular song again.

    • @NachtFaenger
      @NachtFaenger 2 роки тому +43

      Too late. Someone did the same thing that's on this video, but with music. Every note combination possible is contained in this. So whatever you compose, it has already been made.

    • @sorbayy
      @sorbayy 2 роки тому +28

      @@NachtFaenger Ive seen the video on that and they said that their algorithm still had limitations and was limited to mostly western scales, etc. so it’s still possible to find something new don’t be discouraged

    • @remotejamstwo948
      @remotejamstwo948 2 роки тому +7

      I'd have thought that it would be affirming and not dreadful that others have done what you have before you. Everything we do is inspired by our own influences, so to find others who have walked that path before for whatever reasons is inspiring. Given the fact that music has no ceiling, it shows us how we'd diverge from what others have done. Also given the fact that everything we do is influenced in some form by the external world, there's the argument that you should use audio piracy as a compositional prerogative.

    • @verycalmgamer4090
      @verycalmgamer4090 2 роки тому +4

      it also matters when u make it bro. If Kanye's first album was Yeezus, maybe he wouldn't be as big as he is today.

  • @lambdanebula8473
    @lambdanebula8473 2 роки тому +1946

    Technically, the library of babel contains an infinite amount of information if you choose to read it differently. For example, there is a book in the library of babel which provides the code for a more complex library. There's a book which describes a set of books which collectively contain many times more information than a single book could hold. In fact, every book is meaningful depending on the language you use. It's just that most of those books are written in languages that no one has ever, or will ever, think up. It just makes the point, information is quite complex, and is more in how we interpret things rather than the things themselves, at least until we get into quantum physics and the nature of the universe itself in which case information is fundamental, but while the rules are very specific and rigid, it's also very complex, so I'm not going to get into it.

    • @alexjustalexyt1144
      @alexjustalexyt1144 2 роки тому +46

      Also we have to consider the fact that the library of babel is kinda impossible since we only use the Roman alphabet. What about the others?

    • @cutiecry8313
      @cutiecry8313 2 роки тому +12

      Uhhh technically no that is not true, the secret libraries or books that take you to other books just present knowledge that is already in the library of babel in a new way. Same information still

    • @Iudicatio
      @Iudicatio 2 роки тому +29

      @Cutie Cry I am not sure. I study physics but I am far from an expert in abstract math. But I believe the OP is referencing different levels of infinity.
      She is saying that there is a reference somewhere in the Library of Babel to another set of books which can not be contained in the Library of Babel because they exist on a different level of infinity and are too large. (Or you could say another dimension if you like.) This other set of books would fill the entire library of babel and most of it would still be missing.
      I can't think of a concrete example of how this might actually happen, but I believe she's right.

    • @МирјанаАдамовић
      @МирјанаАдамовић 2 роки тому +3

      If someone takes every 5th letter in a book of Babel, there's even more possibilty to find Shakespear or Hamilton.

    • @СергейМакеев-ж2н
      @СергейМакеев-ж2н 2 роки тому +11

      Have you read the sci-fi novel "Permutation City"? It has an idea similar to what you are describing. Except with an additional twist: what if there is a simulation of a conscious being contained in that book?

  • @Mr.Electricc
    @Mr.Electricc 2 роки тому +235

    Always an instant watch when it's a new solar sands video

  • @janmackovcak
    @janmackovcak 7 місяців тому +34

    I feel like the thing about the library of babel is not that it takes too long to get a meaningful text, but let’s say to find out how to become immortal, there will be many books which tell you how to become immortal, but only one will be correct, and the others will tell you to eat dirt and piss from the window. You would already have to know how to become immortal to be able to say that this book says the truth.
    When there is no real information given into something, you can’t get any out of it.

    • @teddycat7218
      @teddycat7218 7 місяців тому +6

      And the difference between the true way to get immortality and a fake one could be one word.

    • @timetravelbeard3588
      @timetravelbeard3588 5 місяців тому +4

      Welcome to the modern internet lol. It's all click bait and bots

    • @cody.vagabond
      @cody.vagabond 4 місяці тому

      But you could test the instructions and filter out the untrue ones.

    • @ClarkRuell
      @ClarkRuell 3 місяці тому

      Doesn't it follow, than, that no monkey could EVER type out Shakespeare, no matter how long it had to do it, b/c it could never do it to begin with? I think so. Also, wouldn't it point to the idea that one cannot 'redeem' one's self from a fallen and ignorant condition unless a wise and free one is leading the way? I think Man is helpless without God.

    • @interbeamproductions
      @interbeamproductions 3 місяці тому

      there's more than one "correct" book since there could be an extra space, or a misspelled word

  • @TheBumbleseed
    @TheBumbleseed 2 роки тому +172

    I love how these projects all use the same title "of babel"
    Because when you think about it, its like the tower of Babel, not in the sense that it reaches up to heaven, but rather that it results in mostly gibberish that people need to find meaning in.

    • @pcm1011
      @pcm1011 2 роки тому +4

      Out of chaos, order, you mean?

    • @averagejoe9040
      @averagejoe9040 2 роки тому +10

      @@pcm1011 out of order, chaos. Its the search for order that has produced this chaos in the first place.

    • @ansuz5903
      @ansuz5903 2 роки тому

      @@averagejoe9040 So we should embrace chaos. I like that

    • @averagejoe9040
      @averagejoe9040 2 роки тому

      @@ansuz5903 the only people who look for meaning in static are crazy people

    • @ansuz5903
      @ansuz5903 2 роки тому

      @@averagejoe9040 Facts. Chaos is truth. Order is a lie.

  • @ludoviajante
    @ludoviajante 2 роки тому +1612

    Can we take a minute to appreciate the effort put into this video? Whenever I come here I learn something new. I don't know man, I feel lucky to be able to access this for free.
    Cheers from Brazil!

    • @jayvmou4116
      @jayvmou4116 2 роки тому +18

      oxi tu aqui

    • @cgguto
      @cgguto 2 роки тому +9

      @@jayvmou4116 né kkkk

    • @achka
      @achka 2 роки тому

      Uma delicia....

    • @sexton_hale24verinaud66
      @sexton_hale24verinaud66 2 роки тому +11

      E a comunidade brasileira do Solar Sands se revela

    • @catarinarodrigues4829
      @catarinarodrigues4829 2 роки тому

      Cara, que pessoa de cultura não assiste Solar Sands?
      N é uma surpresa

  • @dakotaneumann1259
    @dakotaneumann1259 2 роки тому +211

    I once dreamt of the canvas of babel, but it was a map. Each pixel represented an area the size of our universe. My vision started off very close, so close that I could only see the one pixel representing our observable universe, but then I silently floated back into the unknown. Before me was an incomprehensible tapestry that represented everything, one that still haunts me till this date

    • @johnathanegbert9277
      @johnathanegbert9277 Рік тому +1

      What does each of the 4096 colours mean in that regard?

    • @dakotaneumann1259
      @dakotaneumann1259 Рік тому +14

      @@johnathanegbert9277 no idea. Perhaps the color indicated the average curvature of space-time in each given sector?

    • @wolfetteplays8894
      @wolfetteplays8894 Рік тому +7

      Holy fucking shit 😮 that’s terrifying but also enlightening

    • @smarmar400
      @smarmar400 Рік тому +2

      @@wolfetteplays8894 Holy shit fuckers 😮 Same.

    • @Graymenn
      @Graymenn Рік тому +1

      Lol spacetime! Never ceases to amuse me when ppl use that term

  • @eboatwright_
    @eboatwright_ Рік тому +32

    _This_ is the kind of thing I love
    Just the _idea_ that you could find something meaningful and absolutely live changing, but the _astronomically_ high odds that you'll actually find it
    Depressing in a way, but absolutely fascinating

    • @saveoursquirrels4241
      @saveoursquirrels4241 8 місяців тому +1

      The odds are high because there's no way to know what you're looking for. It's way easier to find something meaningful and life-changing if you have an aim. Is that comforting?

    • @eboatwright_
      @eboatwright_ 8 місяців тому

      @@saveoursquirrels4241 Very deep comment, mildly comforting

  • @mys_mistree
    @mys_mistree 2 роки тому +1498

    Something that I would like to point out, as the Library of Babel is one of my personal favorite ideas:
    It is actually not difficult to locate Shakespeare within the Library of Babel, at least not if the Library is organized. It is astronomically unlikely to randomly pull shakespeare from the shelves, but it is fully possible to find it if you are looking for it.
    It is proposed, if the Library is sorted, that to find a book within the Library is no different than having written it yourself.
    And this is also where the primary issue of that person declaring we must seek "The secret of immortality" comes from. Because the secret to immortality is certainly within the Library. As are 26 copies of the secret of immortality where the 'o' in 'of' is replaced with another letter. Along with another thousand copies where the primary ingredient to immortality is replaced with a different ordinary object or noble substance.
    To find meaning in The Library Of Babel,
    You must have already decided what means something to you.

    • @SirusStarTV
      @SirusStarTV 2 роки тому +36

      We can narrow information down by not generating random letters but random english words with grammar rules

    • @mys_mistree
      @mys_mistree 2 роки тому +102

      @@SirusStarTV This is true, though it will not improve a search for new information, simply reduce infinity to grammatically legible infinity.

    • @Superabound2
      @Superabound2 2 роки тому +1

      there would be an infinite number of secrets of immortality that would kill you instantly

    • @aikslf
      @aikslf 2 роки тому +5

      @@mys_mistree What you just proposed is literally just a regular library. Having the means to sort the Library of Babel defeats the whole point of the idea. As for what Gerydome proposed, they're on the right track for machine-learning algorithms. They just need to refine the algorithm far enough so that it starts generating paragraphs of sentences related to each other that contain no meaningless duplicates where each paragraph adds meaning and value to the overall article(or page in a book).

    • @mys_mistree
      @mys_mistree 2 роки тому +34

      @@aikslf I didn't know your local library is infinite. That sounds pretty dope. And it wasn't the means to sort it, it was pre sorted. Though searching for meaning in Babel is nonetheless the same as writing the book you find yourself.

  • @clearcutter74
    @clearcutter74 2 роки тому +662

    "The sculpture is already complete within the marble block, before I start my work. It is already there, I just have to chisel away the superfluous material."
    ― Michelangelo

    • @pussinboots9983
      @pussinboots9983 2 роки тому +45

      Same as "Your problems have already been solved. It's just you haven't reached that point yet."

  • @reenchanted
    @reenchanted 2 роки тому +391

    I’ve given this some thought, and it still never ceases to amaze me. Somewhere in that library are the secrets to technologies yet uninvented, an unwritten screenplay whose film will make you cry 10 years from now, and formulas for medicines that could could save millions of people. And yet, even at our fingertips, it’s just all out of reach, surrounded by exobytes of random trash and so many near-misses and bad versions, as you say.
    It’s an odd thought that ever piece of media ever created from the formation of this library - every masterpiece - was not just crafted but was in a sense “discovered” as a jewel among the dross, since it already exists somewhere. And yet there is no way to find it until it has been created.

    • @pcm1011
      @pcm1011 2 роки тому +21

      Makes you think if every bit of information is discovered, learnt, or just created

    • @peach0129
      @peach0129 2 роки тому

      You redditors are so gullible to actually believe this baloney

    • @andrewsauer9669
      @andrewsauer9669 2 роки тому +7

      Creating that media is the same as finding it.

    • @SmootWoofus
      @SmootWoofus 2 роки тому +1

      Geopbytes*

    • @narizota
      @narizota 2 роки тому

      @@andrewsauer9669 Literally and that's what most people in this comment section don't understand. Anything in this world does not exist until you arrange it a certain way but it needs you

  • @carlsjolund2379
    @carlsjolund2379 Рік тому +38

    Currently losing my shit laughing at the phrase “Quantum Bogosort”

  • @Spax_
    @Spax_ 2 роки тому +203

    My biggest fear ever since I was a child was being granted immortality, but damned to sort through an infinite amount of information, all with zero contact with anyone. This video is definitely living rent-free in the back of my mind now.

    • @darkmatter412
      @darkmatter412 2 роки тому +29

      how did you even get that fear?

    • @40watt53
      @40watt53 2 роки тому +3

      @@darkmatter412 Common sense.

    • @Spax_
      @Spax_ 2 роки тому +30

      @@darkmatter412 having severe ADHD and doing too much thinking

    • @Spax_
      @Spax_ 2 роки тому +7

      @@40watt53 lmao what

    • @spacex6997
      @spacex6997 2 роки тому +8

      Were you considered a gifted kid? Because that would be a fairly interesting fear for any small child.

  • @GoHerping
    @GoHerping 2 роки тому +151

    wow, I got an amazing library of babel canvas! I think I can decipher the text "Error 522"

    • @andredizon791
      @andredizon791 2 роки тому +4

      I cant access it for some reason as well

    • @dominikdoom
      @dominikdoom 2 роки тому +19

      The creator of the site is currently moving, since the site is self-hosted on his own servers, it is unavailable until the move is complete. He said on Reddit that he currently expects August 12 or later for when it will all be up and running again.

    • @SkySaito
      @SkySaito 2 роки тому

      @@dominikdoom So I guess finding immortality will have to wait a bit

  • @medicmist
    @medicmist 2 роки тому +1876

    Ok so now imagine: The kitchen of Babel.
    It contains every flavor, that could ever be made. And it resides in the Palace of Babel. A palace with every single room that could ever exist, these rooms having every single concept that could ever be made.

    • @thisisbetterthanmyprevious6674
      @thisisbetterthanmyprevious6674 2 роки тому +160

      I like this so called “Palace of Babel”
      Does it reside in the City of Babel?
      Is it on Babel Street?
      Is it located in the Country of Babel?
      Is there a Babble Planet?
      Babble Universe?
      Can I visit Babbleland in Babblefornia or Babbleworld in Babblorida?
      Is there a Babblething that holds the entirety of everything that could ever exist ever?
      But what if it holds another babblething in it?
      Is it holding two infinities or just twice the amount of possible things?
      Is it holding infinite infinities?
      How the babble does that work?
      Babblebabblebabblebabble

    • @medicmist
      @medicmist 2 роки тому +58

      @@thisisbetterthanmyprevious6674 As a matter of fact, yes. The Palace of Babel resides in the City of Babel and is located on Babel Street. But even if they share the "Babel" part of the name, only the Palace has "Babel properties".

    • @vylbird8014
      @vylbird8014 2 роки тому +45

      For a very brief time, because some of those rooms must contain big lumps of uncontained neutronium, or jupiter-mass black holes, or cartoonish mad scientists who are just about to test out their new doomsday device.

    • @medicmist
      @medicmist 2 роки тому +24

      @@vylbird8014 Fortunately, Babel properties make these rooms' effects contained

    • @medicmist
      @medicmist 2 роки тому +9

      @Samueli Marinko That should be in the room with a bunch of perfume bottles (pretty sure some of them are deadly so make sure to read the labels if you're gonna smell one of them)

  • @shill2920
    @shill2920 11 місяців тому +24

    I would refer the library, canvas, and audio library of babel to be their own artworks with meaning within themselves, they're interesting, and have a profound message behind them.

  • @vaszgul736
    @vaszgul736 2 роки тому +69

    "You cannot decode the library of babel because it contains words that do not exist yet, and all of the meanings future humans will assign to them."

  • @nddragoon
    @nddragoon 2 роки тому +537

    in the SCP world, there's a magical place that connects to every universe called the Wanderer's Library. it's kind of like a more condensed version of the library of babbel in that it contains every text that has ever been written, will ever be written, and many that will never be, but it's all actual text written by someone. Even with its Librarians who can tell you the location of any book, how do you know that what you're reading is true? It's a pretty fascinating concept

    • @chri-k
      @chri-k 2 роки тому +6

      Well, you can search for a specific book in the website too.

    • @declanedmison5442
      @declanedmison5442 2 роки тому +14

      There’s also a separate website for it. Holds a bunch of unique, strange stories. Pretty cool.

    • @theonlybilge
      @theonlybilge 2 роки тому +10

      Is it related to the satellite with a Homestuck Tumblr page?

    • @theotherohlourdespadua1131
      @theotherohlourdespadua1131 2 роки тому +9

      There is actually an SCP before the Wanderer's Library called SC-1983 and is located in Buenos Aires, Argentina...

    • @sylph4252
      @sylph4252 2 роки тому +3

      Since the libriry of Babel is a thing, the Wanderer's library should get all of it's contents

  • @its_me_angelie4956
    @its_me_angelie4956 2 роки тому +247

    It’s absolutely insane how this is somehow one of the most mind blowing things ever yet somehow is one of the most meaningless. It’s crazy to think how much interesting this is yet somehow is literally useless. The concept itself of infinity fascinates yet scares me

    • @thomasrial4444
      @thomasrial4444 2 роки тому +10

      And in one of those pages what you just said is written. Yet in thousands of other pages what you said is altered in some way or even disagreeing with what you’ve put forth for us to read…

    • @falklumo
      @falklumo 2 роки тому

      There is no infinity involved here…

    • @thomasrial4444
      @thomasrial4444 2 роки тому

      @@falklumo it’s the closest you can get to something that is real “infinite” though on a human lifespan scale. But yes that’s true in a universal scale

  • @Veptis
    @Veptis 6 місяців тому +8

    I love this concept. I thought about it a few days.
    There was a Steve Brunton video that showed a 20x20 1 bit image... Having more information than the universe. so I thought about writing a pixel shader to go through all of them. It would require a random bit shift register to never show an image twice.
    Yes, 2^400 is a massive number.
    And image space is vast. The key is to create a subset of this space by semantically structuring. Which now exists in plenty of languages models, image decoders etc.

  • @RTDelete
    @RTDelete 2 роки тому +885

    The Canvas of Babel does not contain art. It is art

    • @olivernt2667
      @olivernt2667 2 роки тому +60

      It also contains art

    • @opixis
      @opixis 2 роки тому +14

      @@olivernt2667 “It also contains art 🤓”

    • @B__-_
      @B__-_ 2 роки тому +61

      it contains an image of u farting bro

    • @ratewcropolix
      @ratewcropolix 2 роки тому +58

      watch out bro, i have your exact address (if i get extremely lucky)

    • @olivernt2667
      @olivernt2667 2 роки тому

      @@opixis yeah

  • @elchicofemenino
    @elchicofemenino 2 роки тому +151

    I swear that a year ago i wanted to make canvas of babel after hearing about the library of babel, thinking it hasn't been done yet.
    _I've never had an original thought in my life!_

    • @TheGoldenTankTGTgoldisawesome
      @TheGoldenTankTGTgoldisawesome 2 роки тому +31

      _brain of babel_

    • @Bad-Sir
      @Bad-Sir 2 роки тому +9

      Babel of Babels, a museum containing a list of every possible "--- of Babel" websites

    • @Mecharnie_Dobbs
      @Mecharnie_Dobbs 2 роки тому +4

      Sculpture gallery of Babel: Rotating 3D models of every possible shape.
      If this included shapes with detached parts, including pixel-sized parts, floating in the air, then it would look pretty similar to the Gallery of Babel. If it only included shapes where all parts are connected then there would be a lot of sculptures of multicolored bushes growing out of piles of multicolored gravel.
      The hard part would be eliminating the 3D models that include disconnected parts.

    • @micahlehrke9
      @micahlehrke9 2 роки тому

      Maybe a Tower of Bab- oh wait

    • @seratarsybagusibrahim5018
      @seratarsybagusibrahim5018 2 роки тому +3

      Bold of you to think that the idea of Canvas of Babel hasn't already been written in the Library of Babel

  • @Kremlin-Dusk
    @Kremlin-Dusk 2 роки тому +23

    2:25 thank you for adding bloons tower defense music when talking about monkeys lol

  • @adrienxandrews
    @adrienxandrews Рік тому +10

    Your videos strike a nerve of comfort in me like no other channel does.
    I truly love your videos.

  • @jolttrontitan2755
    @jolttrontitan2755 2 роки тому +117

    In a weird way this is one the most inspirational videos I’ve ever seen. Even though that passionate story you’ve been writing for years has already been made, but nobody will find it until you can make it and match it

    • @ri2587
      @ri2587 2 роки тому +2

      that’s a really nice way to think about it. made me smile

    • @angeldude101
      @angeldude101 2 роки тому +3

      The video said the only way to find meaning in the images is to make it, which I take as finding meaning only if you create the image, or if you create the meaning. The meaning isn't there to find, but for you to create based on the image.

  • @Johnny_Franco-12_Scratch
    @Johnny_Franco-12_Scratch 5 місяців тому +9

    0:02 What anyone will feel like if they chewed 1,000 sticks of gum at the same time

  • @human4147
    @human4147 2 роки тому +9

    NFTcels seething over Babelchads stealing their monkeys

  • @masonoreilly7512
    @masonoreilly7512 2 роки тому +15

    a couple years ago after learning about the Library of Babel I threw out some theories with my dad about a hypothetical "Gallery of Babel" containing every possible image on a 1080p canvas, so you can figure that naturally this video piqued my curiosity haha

  • @NotProbablyKam
    @NotProbablyKam 2 роки тому +22

    2:30 I laughed when I heard the Bloons theme

  • @riellyalexander
    @riellyalexander 2 роки тому +67

    “Meaning makes art”. That’s a great quote. I’ve often wondered what could be considered art now that we have AI generated imagery that could be considered art. I’d love to see a whole video dedicated to this topic

  • @VampireFlutist
    @VampireFlutist 2 роки тому +16

    “Babe, wake up. A new Solar Sands vid just dropped”

  • @ferociousfeind8538
    @ferociousfeind8538 2 роки тому +70

    2:02 is so important to understand. By its nature, this library contains many miraculous things. But it contains so many more false, destructive, malicious, and meaningless things. This archive encodes every digit of pi in its images, and that library encodes every digit of pi in its books as well. That library contains this very post, along with a million copies each with 1 typo, and trillions with 2 typos, etcetera. All in a section you could call "the ferociousfeind on the library of babel compendium", but good luck finding it.

    • @cara-seyun
      @cara-seyun 2 роки тому

      There’s a search function, so….

    • @ferociousfeind8538
      @ferociousfeind8538 2 роки тому +4

      @@cara-seyun the search function isn't omnipotent either. You can search for patterns, sure, but you can only search for information you already have. Effectively the search algorithm is finding where your data is already held in the massive library, but you cannot search for "the cure to cancer" and get anything other than lip service, or gibberish with the words "the cure for cancer" somewhere coincidentally in there

    • @cara-seyun
      @cara-seyun 2 роки тому

      @@ferociousfeind8538 true, but it will significantly narrow it down

    • @magnusp25
      @magnusp25 2 роки тому +4

      It does not contain every digit of pi as pi's digits are infinite while the library is finite.

    • @ferociousfeind8538
      @ferociousfeind8538 2 роки тому +4

      @@magnusp25 no, the library contains every string of digits however many digits long, so you can reconstruct the entirety of pi by putting together the books in some order, repeats allowed. You can construct the entirety of pi out of the finite parts of the library of babel, out of a ridiculously small subset of the library of babel even, the books that are entirely digits and contain no letters or punctuation (except for the first one which starts "3.14.....")

  • @samcavanagh7993
    @samcavanagh7993 2 роки тому +198

    you should have mentioned one of the most interesting aspects of the library: for every book of gibberish, there is another book somewhere that contains a cryptographic key that can translate the first book into meaningful language.

    • @iCarus_A
      @iCarus_A 2 роки тому +22

      I don't think this fact is at all interesting given how it is trivially true. In fact, there exists an infinite amount of cryptographic keys for every book since you can simply define the cryptograph function as "add the values of the characters together, as defined by their places in the alphabet".

    • @samcavanagh7993
      @samcavanagh7993 2 роки тому +24

      @@iCarus_A my point is that every book that looks like gibberish can be deciphered into something readable by another book somewhere in the library

    • @TrappedinaBrain
      @TrappedinaBrain 2 роки тому +27

      Yeah the whole idea of "meaning" kind of breaks down when you think about the library of babel for too long. Technically _any_ book in the library could have _any_ meaning if you "decrypt" it the right way

    • @roblaquiere8220
      @roblaquiere8220 2 роки тому +9

      @@samcavanagh7993 Why do all that? Somewhere in the library is the book of gibberish already undeciphered without needing the cryptographic key.

    • @iCarus_A
      @iCarus_A 2 роки тому +2

      @@samcavanagh7993 yes, like I stated, that fact is trivially true...

  • @DavidMcCarthy08
    @DavidMcCarthy08 2 роки тому +33

    I'm really glad you took the time to talk about the Canvas of Babel, as I don't see a lot of people talk about it.

  • @EagerSleeper
    @EagerSleeper Рік тому +154

    This stuff is fascinating to people that are interested in AI.
    Stable Diffusion basically takes random pixels and interprets it based on its models.
    If we had an image of every conceivable moment in history from every angle (and infinite computing power/storage) to train an AI with, it could take a jumble of random pixels like in the Canvas of Babel and create any image imaginable in a way that is indistinguishable to reality.
    It could even be trained to determine how close to reality that generated image is. It could even make predictions as to how likely an image like that is to be possible in the future.

  • @jaydenyamada2916
    @jaydenyamada2916 2 роки тому +15

    Ah quantum bogosort. One of my first CS professors explained that one to the class. It of course ended with "The rest is left as an exercise to the reader"

  • @arkfish
    @arkfish 2 роки тому +24

    I find it sort of crazy that somewhere out there, there is a sequence of images in the image library of Babel that perfectly matches this videos, as well as the full script for this video in the text library of Babel. Maybe even the voiceover if there's an audio version that isn't just melodies.

  • @Juanfcilantro
    @Juanfcilantro 2 роки тому +81

    While you were talking about Bogosort and the impossible yet alluring odds, how it's the same as the lottery, I couldn't help but think of another of Borges' short stories, The Lottery in Babylon, where he talks about this exact thing, how we both find and are stripped of meaning by randomness and chance.

  • @parallax256
    @parallax256 Рік тому +8

    Imagine you write an essay and your teacher says you plagiarized the library of babel

    • @marklorien
      @marklorien 4 місяці тому

      This made me laugh

  • @yeehawtaw2134
    @yeehawtaw2134 2 роки тому +229

    I've had this interesting idea of a kind of video game of babel. Imagine, if upon booting up the game, it would randomly snatch a ton of assets from the unity store or something, randomly generate text as code, and then compile that code and assets in some kind of virtual machine. It would literally never even boot up, but its interesting to me. What if it did? What could it make?

    • @rocknrollmandolin
      @rocknrollmandolin 2 роки тому +13

      im fascinated by this comment

    • @thepwrtank18
      @thepwrtank18 2 роки тому +71

      a fixed version of Cyberpunk 2077 exists, we just have to find it

    • @somerobloxdude3699
      @somerobloxdude3699 2 роки тому +5

      I wonder if any of the possibilities is a complete, functional remake of any game in existence

    • @xenogenix5446
      @xenogenix5446 2 роки тому +4

      This is really cool

    • @alienfromandromeda8067
      @alienfromandromeda8067 2 роки тому +32

      There’s an application for Doom called Obsidian that just generates random maps. What I find interesting is that there’s a chance you’ll just generate the original Doom maps.

  • @MTF4XTROT
    @MTF4XTROT 2 роки тому +29

    Putting Aphex Twin music (specifically: Selected Ambient Works Volume II) is the greatest idea of all; Aphex Twin’s music is like the full combination of every note to ever exist, Druqs’s a great example of this, so many song, so very distinct from each other; Avril 14th, the piano notes being so relaxing and sad in some way, compared to Afx.237 v7; A noisy like singing combined with lasers all over the song can take thousands, but millions of years to analyze every single note on Aphex Twin’s works.

    • @xylin3683
      @xylin3683 2 роки тому +1

      Drukqs is the most underrated masterpiece of all time.

    • @coileight
      @coileight 2 роки тому

      @@xylin3683 I'm on drukqs right now and I agree

  • @cac_deadlyrang
    @cac_deadlyrang 2 роки тому +8

    I love how Solar Sands has turned from DeviantART rant channel to the spiritual successor to VSauce.

  • @SilbannacusAugustus
    @SilbannacusAugustus Рік тому +13

    These "babel" sites are really cool, like they have a huge potential that isnt practical to explore.

  • @adirmazhir9159
    @adirmazhir9159 2 роки тому +15

    6:50 the mixtape of babel

  • @PolygonDonut
    @PolygonDonut 2 роки тому +62

    Your videos cover the most interesting topics ever... i love this so muuch thank you

    • @IGNITOHD
      @IGNITOHD 2 роки тому +1

      pongon 😁😁

    • @thorsito
      @thorsito 2 роки тому +2

      Omg is pogon nonut 😮😮😮😁😁😁😁😁🍔

    • @feixou
      @feixou 2 роки тому +1

      oongomg

    • @VenThusiaist
      @VenThusiaist 2 роки тому

      oh my God made me
      hhhhhhhh

    • @VenThusiaist
      @VenThusiaist 2 роки тому

      made me the bogo sort 🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥶

  • @NothingXemnas
    @NothingXemnas 2 роки тому +103

    As someone who is VERY familiar with the Library of Babel, it is very interesting that they created a subsection for images!
    It is also worth mentioning that, just like the Library of Babel, entire documents aren't bound to only one image! Each frame could contain only a fraction of an image, and collecting all of them can make a higher resolution picture, with all the details you can ever imagine.

    • @shvog4242
      @shvog4242 Рік тому +14

      That's actually crazy to think about. For all we know these seemingly random images can just be an atomically small part of a way larger image and infact you aren't looking at just random pixels on the screen

    • @aterack833
      @aterack833 Рік тому +1

      Good theory, I wonder how many images squared you would need before some of these gibberish images make more sense?

    • @DenisLoubet
      @DenisLoubet Рік тому

      All images in arbitrary resolution.

  • @EagerSleeper
    @EagerSleeper Рік тому +86

    To get this program to provide anything of substance, we would need it to run at an impossibly fast speed WHILE an AI tool checks every image for any amount of coherence.
    We would quickly get an endless supply of random images constantly being generated, all of which might as well be noise. Hot dogs on unicycles, men with 15 arms, slenderman. Essentially, what we can already do with modern AI tools without needing some separate software to generate it from brute force pixel formation.

    • @theninja4137
      @theninja4137 8 місяців тому

      This literally is brute force pixel formation

    • @juergenkern6763
      @juergenkern6763 7 місяців тому +2

      @@theninja4137 thats litterally what he saod

  • @samuels1123
    @samuels1123 2 роки тому +33

    The seed thing shows that it is effectively like guessing an encryption key, the encryptor generates what can only be considered useless noise unless you get the numbers just right, then it forms an image

    • @youtubehandlesux
      @youtubehandlesux 2 роки тому +1

      a short number vs 10^961755, assuming random distribution and no reverse engineering it's far less likely to get an cohesive image, ever, than to randomly smash keyboard and get a PGP private key for a certain public key on the first try ...

  • @NafedalbiFilms
    @NafedalbiFilms 2 роки тому +18

    To more intuitively understand the lack of information on Babel, realize that a pen and paper is also the Library of Babel, where every possible thing that could be written exists when you write on it.

  • @Sebboebbo
    @Sebboebbo 2 роки тому +22

    Da king is back baby it's time for art

  • @pithaimer7499
    @pithaimer7499 8 місяців тому +2

    this is an excellent video in general, and as a small insignificant detail, i also really appreciate the aphex twin in the soundtrack. was lovely and unexpected

  • @nonamenoname1942
    @nonamenoname1942 2 роки тому +24

    3:31 that is exactly like my experience trying to write a novel.

  • @Workof
    @Workof 2 роки тому +19

    I forgot this exists! Such an amazing concept, a Library that contains everything that will ever be but you can never find it... pure poetry

  • @eruick047
    @eruick047 2 роки тому +44

    Just by reading the title and remembering the Library of Babel website I got excited

  • @ZintomV1
    @ZintomV1 Рік тому +6

    Creasing when the Bloons Tower Defense music kicked in when he started talking about monkeys.

  • @northscylla
    @northscylla 2 роки тому +11

    The Bloons Tower Defense music while talking about the infinite monkey theorem... genious

  • @autisonm
    @autisonm 2 роки тому +87

    I like the message towards the end about having to ascribe meaning to art, life, and everything basically. The Canvas of Babel in a way reminds me of Minecraft and its various seeds of seemingly near infinite amounts due to the shear magnitude of possible seeds in a single version, plus the multitude of other versions that add new natural blocks or alter how worlds generate with all of their seeds.

  • @phazejump3204
    @phazejump3204 Рік тому +5

    A funny thing about the library of babel and the canvas of babel is that in the library there is a page with words "an image of this page with a stray pixel in coordinates x and z" and there is always an image for that in the canvas of babel.
    The infinite possibilities of infinity. Funny, beautiful and scary at the same time.

  • @singletona082
    @singletona082 2 роки тому +7

    Congradulations you crashed Babel.
    Error 522 Ray ID: 736295165ab9a39c • 2022-08-05 21:21:56 UTC
    Connection timed out

    • @kam2894
      @kam2894 2 роки тому +3

      yeah lmao

  • @blackkittyfreak
    @blackkittyfreak 2 роки тому +98

    I think the Library of Babel and other such concepts illustrate an all-too-common fundamental misunderstanding of information. Turning the abstract phase-space of possibilities into a physical archive of every possible permutation is less than worthless. Far from being a font of knowledge and meaning, the Library of Babel buries anything and everything useful under literal mountains of gibberish. You would still have to search for meaningful information, and the only effective way to do that is to write that information yourself, leaving you no better off than you would be without it.
    I think it also serves as a good metaphor for finding meaning in life. Life itself has no fundamental meaning, being essentially a product of random chance. If we want our lives to have any meaning, we all end up having to make it for ourselves one way or another.

    • @chrisakaschulbus4903
      @chrisakaschulbus4903 Рік тому +2

      People think that the library of babel contains meaningful texts... but only when someone reads then, the reader themself will give it some meaning. I also don't like calling it a library at all... it's like saying the fibonacci algorythm is a book containing all fibonacci numbers.

    • @jonnemopola7245
      @jonnemopola7245 Рік тому

      Beautifully said about the life!

  • @Queer_Nerd_For_Human_Justice
    @Queer_Nerd_For_Human_Justice Рік тому +26

    And, by making INTENTIONAL art, you're helping fight the entropic heat death of the universe! Even smutty crossover au fanfiction! Keep making things!

    • @official-obama
      @official-obama Рік тому +7

      ...art requires energy, and the energy is used up when you make the art... so you're just speeding it up...

    • @laggianput
      @laggianput 7 місяців тому +6

      ​@@official-obamayeah but smutty au fanfiction is actually good at breaking the laws of physics

  • @MisterLambda
    @MisterLambda 2 роки тому +31

    These Mediums of Bable would be an extremely efficient way for a time traveler to send information to the past. A simple text document could contain coordinates to thousands of pivotal images and scripts. - If only there was some way to send a text message back.

    • @blakegallay1967
      @blakegallay1967 2 роки тому +7

      Hey! So this is an interesting idea, but it turns out that it isn't quite right and it's for a reason that I think illuminates how these Archives work. The question is, how long will these coordinates be? If there are N things in the library, we need N different coordinates, because each one specifies a different thing in the library. Assuming these coordinates are numbers in base 2 (binary), we would need at least log_2(N) digits to represent numbers as big as N. But wait, we can apply the same logic to the things themselves. At the end of the day, images and sound and such are represented using binary digits, which are just numbers. And so we also need log_2(N) binary digits to represent the things. But this means that the coordinates aren't any more efficient! This might be counterintuitive, but think of it this way - the coordinates are just a different way of encoding the things. You can encode the things using their original representation, as images or sounds or whatever, OR as their coordinates. It's two different ways of encoding the same things. Sort of breaks the magic a bit, but I still think it's cool!

    • @kras_mazov
      @kras_mazov 2 роки тому +4

      No, because the address of a supposedly meaningful text is longer than the text itself.

    • @mysteriousstranger2287
      @mysteriousstranger2287 2 роки тому

      But how about sending a message with coordinates to the message you want to send? Iterate this indirection until the coordinates are short enough

    • @kras_mazov
      @kras_mazov 2 роки тому +1

      @@mysteriousstranger2287 The page number is a long number, longer that the original message. Re-iterating the process would only make it longer.

  • @BillyCobbOfficial
    @BillyCobbOfficial Рік тому +2

    Are you telling me what would have been Spider-Man 4 exists?

  • @Freak80MC
    @Freak80MC Рік тому +109

    It is pretty spooky tho, to know that as soon as you have created a piece of work, whether that be written or an image, you can immediately go to the library of babel or the canvas of babel and find that it was always there, just waiting to be found. Though I guess in a way, it's more special that that work was created by a human with intention, vs a computer program that brute forced its way through an infinite series to get to that image that couldn't even be found anyway before it was created first by human hands.

    • @Sign_from_God
      @Sign_from_God 6 місяців тому +5

      This comment is in the library of babel so is the library of babel speaking to itself?

    • @fandroid6491
      @fandroid6491 5 місяців тому

      ​@@Sign_from_God And yours and mine too so maybe

  • @plsno8125
    @plsno8125 2 роки тому +16

    This is a good representation of chaos and how the human mind is very capable of producing order from entropy.

  • @TonyZamboniShow
    @TonyZamboniShow Рік тому +4

    I was literally just thinking of this concept a few days ago and this popped up in my feed.

  • @nachgeben
    @nachgeben 2 роки тому +7

    Every time someone says 'libarry' instead of 'library', an angel fucking dies.

    • @TheAechBomb
      @TheAechBomb 2 роки тому +1

      lieberry

    • @Gloomdrake
      @Gloomdrake 2 роки тому +3

      Its a command. If Barry doesn't lie soon, we're fucked, but he holds fast to his damnable morality

    • @dragonfruit6532
      @dragonfruit6532 2 роки тому +1

      Underrated

    • @333Xanax
      @333Xanax 2 роки тому

      Lol

    • @robertgough161
      @robertgough161 5 місяців тому

      libarry is just easier to pronounce though
      rip angels😔

  • @SandyGarnelle
    @SandyGarnelle 2 роки тому +73

    From a deviantart commentator to an art version of VSauce
    What a legend

  • @luisarodrigues1741
    @luisarodrigues1741 2 роки тому +11

    You could never have an ideia of how much I LOVE your videos. YOU COULD NOT EVEN CONCEIVE!!! Please don't ever stop, you are absolutely amazing.

  • @skeelr311
    @skeelr311 2 роки тому +15

    Always a great time when there’s a new Solar Sands video. Great work!

  • @Ghennesph
    @Ghennesph 2 роки тому +22

    I remember mumbling a lot about how there's only so many combinations of notes that sound good to human sensibilities. It's nice to see the theory proven.

    • @dzinypinydoroviny
      @dzinypinydoroviny 2 роки тому +2

      Well, to add to that, the music note combination thing is restricted in many ways, one of them being only using 8 notes instead of say 88 notes (that's how many notes there are on a piano and music usually doesn't go beyond that) but it also doesn't take into consideration musical aesthetics.
      So, if we focus on the combinations of eight notes over eight beats, most of the melodies observed are not going to sound very good anyway.

  • @thatweirdphoneguystickman5596
    @thatweirdphoneguystickman5596 Рік тому +4

    As a monkey at a typewriter, I can confirm that I didn't actually choose to write this sentence.